Global Study On Child Poverty And Disparities (PDF) - Social Policy ...

Overall Poverty in Vanuatu
Before discussing new estimates of child poverty,
it is useful to summarise earlier findings for
general poverty levels (for households with and
without children) in Vanuatu. An analysis of 2006
household income and expenditure survey data
(Government of Vanuatu, National Statistics
Office, ADB and United Nations Development
Programme, 2008) found that overall, 6 per cent
of households, representing 7.4 per cent of the
population, did not consume enough to meet basic
food needs as defined by the FPL. Nationally,
about 12.9 per cent of households, representing
15.9 per cent of the population, spent less than
needed to meet the BNPL. Port Vila exceeded the
national average, with 27.2 per cent of households
below the BNPL.
The 2008 study also found that overall poverty in
Vanuatu is relatively low in Pacific terms, with a
national poverty gap index of 5.6, compared for
example with 7.5 for Solomon Islands and 11.2
for Fiji. However, the poverty gap index for Port
Vila, at 10.6, was higher than for the rest of the
country, suggesting a large difference between
the better off and the poor in the national capital.
The poverty gap index indicates that the average
expenditure levels of households in poverty
are well below the poverty line. Overall, these
Figures indicate that Vanuatu experiences a
slightly lower level of poverty severity than other
Pacific countries, except in Port Vila (ADB, UNDP,
Government of Vanuatu, 2008).
New estimates of child poverty
Estimates of child poverty using the Vanuatuspecific
BNPL differ according to whether
the poverty line is set at the national level or
disaggregated by location.
As shown in Figure 2.1, the total number of
children in Vanuatu estimated to be living in
households below the national BNPL in 2006
was 14,953, or about 17 per cent of all children
(see also Table A1.3 in annex 1 for provincial
disaggregation). Of the total population including
adults, 15.9 per cent were living in poverty as
measured by this definition, compared to 17.0 per
cent of children, meaning that children are overrepresented
among the poor.
About 40 per cent of all children in Torba, and
about a quarter of all children in Tafea and
Shefa, were living in poverty. Using this measure,
Luganville and Port Vila have the lowest levels of
child poverty, with about 5 per cent of children in
these regions in poverty.
Figure 2.1: Children living under the national
Basic Needs Poverty Line (%)
45
40
39.5
35
30
26
25
22.6
20
17.1
12.6 17
15
11
10
5.9
4.9
5
0 Luganville Port Malampa Sanma Vanuatu Penama Shefa Tafea Torba
Vila (Rural) (Rural)
Source: Estimated from 2006 HIES.
Based on the national BNPL, Torba ranks worst
in the proportion of children living in poverty (40
per cent). However, the actual number of children
living in poverty is larger in Tafea (4,099) than
in Torba (1,747), even though the percentage is
lower in Tafea (26 per cent).
Figure 2.2 shows the number and proportion of
children living under the sub-national BNPLs,
which include the regional non-food factors as
described above. In Torba, a quarter of all children
live in poverty as measured by the sub-national
line, compared to 40 per cent when measured
by the national line. In Luganville, child poverty
based on the sub-national line is twice that
measured by the national standard (11 per cent
compared to 5 per cent), and in Port Vila it is 33
per cent under the local standard, up from 6 per
cent under the national standard.
Figure 2.2: Children under the sub-national Basic
Needs Poverty Line (%)
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
3.6
4.7
6.1 11.4
Malampa Sanma Penama Luganville Vanuatu Shefa Tafea Torba Port
(Rural) (Rural) Vila
Source: Estimated from 2006 HIES.
13.54 15.5
International dollar-a-day poverty line
The measurement of absolute global poverty
is usually based on the US$1 per day PPP
value. This measure is the basis of Goal 1 of the
17.6
24.2
32.8
36